2017 BMW 4-Series new car review
It's not the usual thing when reviewing a new car to start off by talking about the colour of its paint.
But BMW's 4-Series isn't exactly brand-spanking: it's a facelift and a relatively mild one and that, and besides one of the new colours has an Australian angle.
Seems one of the designers was on holiday in Queensland and dreamily watching recreational fishermen hauling in the big ones near the beach and was inspired to mix up a brand new colour in his paint pots, naming it Snapper Rocks Blue after the luminous azure of the tropical ocean.
All of which seems very distant when powering a 440i coupe up a mountain pass in south-eastern Bavaria through a pine forest laden with unseasonal post-Easter snow which is still drifting in curtains across the road, and the car's outside temperature display is reading a distinctly non-FNQ seven degrees below zero. At least the blue car stands out against the white.
2017 BMW 440i Coupe Photo: Fabian Kirchbauer
The 4-Series upgrade follows last year's similar massaging of the 3-Series sedan, on which the coupe, convertible and four-door Gran Coupe are based.
Prices remain unchanged, starting at $69,900 for the 420i Coupe, then it's $79,900 for the 430i two-door and $99,900 for the 430i. Gran Coupe prices match the Coupe, while choosing the Convertible adds a neat $18,000 across the board.
Mechanical changes are few. The engine line-up of 2.0-litre turbo four in 420i variants, a more powerful version of the same in the 430i and the turbo six in the 440i remain the same.
You'd even have to be a BMW-spotter to pick the exterior differences – the new blue, and an equally vibrant Sunset Orange hue apart. The front and rear bumpers have beenredesigned. Headlamps and tail lights are LED and alloy wheel designs are new but that's about it.
Inside, there have been upgrades to fabrics and trim items, the central iDrive controller is the latest version and the centre console display has app-style tiles that can be personalized by the owner.
There's also a multifunction information display giving the driver to opt between different versions of major gauges. It will be introduced some months after the first facelifted 4-Series goes on sale so if you want it, you might have to wait a bit.
2017 BMW 440i Coupe Photo: Fabian Kirchbauer
As far as equipment levels go for Australia, the 420i has the so-called Luxury Line package that includes 19-inch wheels, the Professional level GPS navigation, adaptive dampers and surround-view parking assistant. 430i and 440i variants are equipped with the M Sport package and the latter model ups the ante with heated seats, active cruise control, auto high-beam and a 16-speaker stereo.
2017 BMW 440i Coupe Photo: Fabian Kirchbauer
The suspension has been reworked both for better straight-line stability and, in the case of the Coupe and Gran Coupe, extra stiffness to reduce body roll and increase on-the-limit accuracy. The Convertible remains on the previous softer settings, presumably to suit its more cruisy character.
We drove both the 440i Coupe and the 430i Convertible, the latter with its hardtop roof in place (all that snow!) and, in general, you'd have to say the driving improvements are every bit as subtle as expected.
The Coupe, with its more powerful 240kW turbo in-line six, is both exciting and sporty – it'll hit 100km/h in a claimed 5.2 seconds – while being smooth and sweet thanks mainly to the velvety combination of the engine and eight-speed automatic drivetrain.
On fast, open roads it has performance in reserve and will flow from one corner to the next with a twitch of the wheel while maintaining a very acceptable degree of ride comfort.
The more slippery and unpredictable alpine passes were another challenge, but one it coped with well. The steering feels a little numb at first, but proves to be accurate and the greater degree of body control that has come with the upgrade manifests itself as providing greater confidence to the driver in tight corners where the rear end is about to slide wide and it's easy to feel at what point to back off the throttle, or give it an extra squirt.
In all, the 440i Coupe can be fast, but civil enough that it doesn't have to be furious.
2017 BMW 430i Convertible Photo: Fabian Kirchbauer
The convertible is a bit more relaxed, especially seeing as in 430i guise its 2.0-litre turbo four puts out 185kW while the car weighs a portly 1810kg. The engine may be tuned for torque at low speeds which makes for an easy cruising experience, but push it harder and it feels a little undernourished as well as sounding comparatively harsh.
Apart from that it's all good news for a 4-Series line-up that continues to be inherently sporty, not to the absolute levels of the M4 and its variants, but with more value and comfort built in.
2017 BMW 440i coupe pricing and specifications
On sale: June 2017
Price: From $99,900 plus on-road costs.
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl. turbo.
Power: 240kW at 5500rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 1380-5000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Fuel use: 6.8 L/100km